5 Recommended Wine Tours in Europe

5 Recommended Wine Tours in Europe

My love affair with wine started in Montreal but took hold in France. Wine is one of favourite reasons to travel. i first started trying to expand my wine knowledge, I started pretty simply, asking for recommendations in restaurants or hotel staff. I was a bit afraid of tours, I thought i would need to know more than Idid and didn’t want to look stupid. I shouldn’t have been afraid, that is exactly what these tours are for, to introduce you to wines, understand how they are made and what you are tasting and finally give you an appreciation and a love for the wine and the art of wine making. I have had some amazing wines by getting a map from a local tourist office and driving to different vineyards for tastings, but that is for another blog. On formal wine tours, I have had an amazing time, met some fantastic new people and tried some of the most incredible wines. Here are my top 5 recommendations of wine tours.

5. Olivier Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet, Côte de Beaune, Burgundy. We booked a lunch at Olivier Leflaive based on an article from of Food and Wine magazine http://www.foodandwine.com/. The lunch came with wine pairings. Olivier Leflaive is famous for its white wines,Predominantly a red wine drinker, I was never the less excited as Burgundy is one of France’s more storied, celebrated and revered wine regions and I was about to find out why. Upon booking we were asked if we wanted to include a vineyard tour. Of course we did. And on the vineyard tour which preceded the lunch, we learned all about the vines, the micro climate that contributed to the flavour of the grapes (predominately chardonnay and pinot noir), the impact of the soil, sun and wind on the grape and how trimming the vines impacts the wine. We then took a tour of the winery itself followed by a delicious lunch. The lunch was four courses paired with the vineyards best wines including premier and grand crus. Not to be missed.https://www.olivier-leflaive.com/en/

4. Staying in Pisa and Florence seemed a perfect jumping off point to taste Tuscan wines, in particular the Chianti wines. Knowing very little about Italian wines, I was eager to taste and try. Our wine tour was just a bit too large. Side note, smaller tours are often better and have more times for both questions and commentary. That said, We got to enjoy the beautiful Tuscan countryside, visit a Chateau for tasting with food pairings and enjoy meeting other people on our tour. Our tour guide at the Chateau knew her stuff, explained about the vines and spent a fair bit of time matching the wine tasting to the food and it it really did make quite the difference. All in all, fairly enjoyable but not the most interesting of wines on this tour.

3. Wine Tasting in the Chateauneuf du pape.Avignon is the most logical place to start wine tours for Chateauneuf du pape. Easily one of my favourite wine regions, This Southern Rhone Wine region produces some of the biggest, boldest, most interesting French wines. I didn’t know just how much I ‘d come to adore Chateauneuf du pape wines when I first set out on the tour. Since then, I actively seek them out and the wines are among my favourite wines in the world! Our tour guide paired the wine tastings in the vineyards with a trip to the Roman Theatre in Orange so truly get an understanding of our surroundings. The theatre which is still in use is exceptional but the wines…. were out of this world. There was a wide variety of tastes from the light bodied summer wines to the full bodied flavour packed reds. A definite must for any wine lover.

2. Veuve Clicquot is one of the oldest Champagne houses in Reims, the capital of the Champagne region. It is also my favourite. The first champagne house to be run by a woman, Madame Clicquot back in 1805, she also invented the riddling process which allows us to enjoy champagne today. And oh how I enjoyed it!!! The Champagne all had remarkably different flavours and we came away with a new respect for Champagne house traditions. https://www.veuveclicquot.com/en-ca

1. For me the creme de la creme of wine tours was http://www.chemins-de-bourgogone.com. Leaving from the Beaune tourist office, this small tour takes you through the vineyards of Burgundy. Traveling through villages and vineyards that I had only heard of on a wine label, we one again we immersed in the process of making the wine and the art form and celebration associated with it. I learned to have a new respect for the vines, the workers, the wine maker and most of ll the wine. Stopping in a vineyard which has been in wine production since the time of Charlemagne, we tasted an eau de vie from the grapes of the vineyards were were sitting in. We finished off the tour at a winery for some tastings and I would easily book again and again.

If you just want to start exploring wines from different countries and regions there is no better place than Gordons wine bar 47 Villiers St London. Just down the street from Charing Cross towards the Thames, Gordons wine bar is a hidden gem. Marketed as London’s oldest wine bar, the interior is era appropriate, even with its own wine cave Featuring wines from around the world, even India and Lebanon, Gordons is a must go to try wines and have fun. The server will help you select and you’ll have a great time. http://gordonswinebar.com/

Wine is something many people love but can be a divisive topic. We all have opinions I have often heard and also said ‘i don’t like white wine’ or ‘I don’t like merlot’ but maybe just maybe after a wine tour you find out you actually do. It is always worth try to expand your tastes and try something you just might love ( I am looking at you Chateauneuf du pape).